storeys

The Architectural of Leeds

How The Victorians Changed Leeds...

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The Victorian Edition

The Forgotten Man The man who helped build Leeds, yet has not much other than a Wetherspoons pub named after him, we look at why this may be the case, whilst chronicling this great mans monumental achievements and how the city of Leeds owes its economic and cultural prosperity to this Hull born Architect.

Abbey Road Milepost Storeys trundled up to Abbey Road to examine this eccentric looking but visually stupendous milepost in the middle of Britain and right here in Leeds, just past Kirkstall Abbey. We unveil some interesting facts about the milepost.

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A Conversation About Conservation In these tough economic times, Leeds architectural heritage is under an increasing threat. Leader of Conservation in Leeds Phil Ward spoke in great depth of why conservation isnt a break on economic and could in fact help economic development.

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Editorial
Welcome to our first ever edition of Storeys, your ultimate guide to the history of Leeds landmarks. We are very proud to present some great groundbreaking features in this edition. This issue will look at Victorian Leeds and how the architecture of that era, helped play a role in Leeds development. We take an in-depth look at Cuthbert Brodrick and his works in and around the city, including the monumental Town Hall and glorious Corn Exchange, which no doubt anyone who has had the pleasure of viewing will appreciate the brilliant designs. We also had the pleasure of being given a backstage tour of the Leeds Grand Theatre and the City Varieties. Steeped in history, with whose who of show business having played the venues, the two have been brought back to life following a down period. The restoration work has truly done wonders for both venues, as you will find inside this issue. Cottage Road cinema in Headingley will be celebrating its 100th birthday next year, we look forward by paying tribute to another historical institution of Leeds. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped us put this issue together. Most notably Mike Joslin for his technical expertise, Steve Morant for providing a great deal of his expertise on Cuthbert Brodricks works. Other people we would like to thank are Phil Ward for taking time out to speak to us regarding Leeds future. A special thanks goes to Catherine Callinan of Leeds Grand Theatre, for giving us a wonderful tour of both the City Varieties and Leeds Grand Theatre.

To Protect & To Preserve Storeys like the idea of preserving our great countrys heritage and who has had a bigger impact on our nations architecture than the Victorians. We look at the vital role played by the Victorian society in helping preserve buildings of historical significance.

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A Grand Day Out The Leeds Grand Theatre has recently undergone restoration and we were given exclusive access to both the Theatre and The City Varieties. Catherine Callinan led Storeys on an anecdote filled tour. We examine the cultural impact of entertainment venues such as the Grand Theatre as well as disclosing some real royal escapades. 4

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Cuthbert Brodrick opening page

Forgotten Man...

Ismail Mulla looks at the unheralded hero of Leeds Victorian Architecture, Cuthbert Brodrick. We explore how he gave the city its soul and the role he played in forming the identity of this great city. His legacy can be felt to this day with iconic buildings scattered across the city.

Leeds Improvement Society founded in 1851 to suggest and promote architectural and public improvements in the town, Dr. John Deakin Heaton became a prime supporter of having a Town Hall for Leeds. He argued: if a noble municipal place that might fairly vie with some of the best Town Halls of the continent were to be erected in the middle of their hitherto squalid and unbeautiful town, it would become a practical admonition to the populace of the value of beauty and art, and in course of time men would learn to live up to it. This statement has been proven and reverberates to this date. Leeds is a hive of cultural activity. It is home to the Henry Moore Institute, the Leeds Art Gallery, and the Central Library and of course the beautiful architecture. It created a sense of community and Dr. John Deakin foresaw this saying in the most broad and liberal spirit, andincur that which might even seem to some to be an extravagant expenditure, rather than fail in a duty which it owed to the rest of the community and to prosperity. The significance of the town hall was great, making the responsibility of designing it even greater. The council ran a competition for plans for the new Town Hall to be submitted, the competition was to be judged by Sir Charles Barry the architect of the Houses of Parliament. It was Sir Charles Barry who went onto play a crucial role in

Leeds owes a lot to Hull. For it was the prodigal son of a well to do ship owner from the city who helped shape the future of Leeds. Cuthbert Brodrick was born on 1st December 1821. Privately educated but later attending private academy Kingston College in Hull, Brodrick would go onto to become an architect. Brodricks legacy can be felt to this day in the city with his iconic buildings scattered across Leeds. He is arguably the unsung hero in Leeds development as a major city. Leeds is a city that was built by the Victorians and to this day it has maintained its status as a major financial and cultural hub. It was architects such as Brodrick that helped give this city and its people the confidence to step up in society. Phil Ward, Team Leader for Conservation in Leeds said: Economically thats when the city made great strides and certainly theBRODRICK: ImCUTHBERT capital of what is now West Yorkshire, so it age courtesy of Leodis 7

established itself as a commercial capital and the merchants thought they were living in a golden era and they were making parallels with other eras such as renaissance Italy, they though that Leeds was a rich prosperous and also a democratic city so they drew parallels with Florence, Venice. So they were lavish they wanted symbols to express this newfound wealth and confidence and also sort of pull themselves up a bit and hold their heads high with other cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, if it hadnt been for the Victorians Leeds would have been like Wakefield. English poet John Betjeman once wrote No city of the North of England has so fine a swagger in the way of 19th and early 20th century as Leeds, calling the Town Hall superb. The Town Hall is the creation of none other than Cuthbert Brodrick. The Town Hall was and still is of great significance to the city. The secretary of the

Brodricks design being chosen. The council felt he was too young, but Sir Charles Barry had been very impressed with the plans and felt that Brodrick had what it took to carry through the project. Steve Morrant an architect and former senior lecturer in architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University said: I just think he is an inspiring figure and the reason why, it was a particularly inspiring thing about the young age at which he won the competition. Somebody works this hard and produces these devastating drawings. Taking a modern day example it compares with one of the Kaiser Chiefs. The Town Hall isnt the only building that Brodrick designed in Leeds. In fact many would argue that the Corn

Exchange is his greatest achievement, while the Town Hall was culturally significant and aesthetically grand, the Corn Exchange saw Brodrick take a different direction and draw Parisian inspired plans. It remains an iconic building in the heart of Leeds city centre. I think the oval Corn Exchange is fascinating because it fits into the environment around it. The Corn Exchange would sit on the sand of the coliseum, said Steve Morrant. The impact of the Corn Exchange can be felt on other buildings. For the Trinity development which is a vast building site at the bottom of Briggate. I cant help thinking someone thought theres a relationship between the Corn Exchange. I cant help thinking that someone has been looking at the corn exchange.

At night you can see this internally lit dome rising like a moon on the city scape its very futuristic looking even now. Its fitting that our meeting with Steve Morrant should take place at the former Mechanics Institute, now the Leeds City Museum as he was responsible for the design of the building. Overlooking Millennium Square, where once the Oriental Baths stood on Cookridge Street [PICTURE BOTTOM RIGHT], yes you guessed it a creation of Brodrick as well and a few meters away is his former office, now a bar. We could say this is a little Brodrick enclave. But despite the obvious impact of Brodricks buildings on the city, there remains very little to mark the great man and his achievements, aside from the Wetherspoons pub op-

No city of the North of England has so fine a swagger in the way of 19th and early 20th century as Leeds.

John Betjeman, Poet.

PANORAMA: Leeds Town Hall 9

posite Millennium Square and one could argue thats hardly befitting of a man who helped give the city its identity. But the biggest aberration has to be the fact that at the Leeds City Museum (again a creation of Brodrick) there is nothing, no mention at all about him, but why is this the case? He didnt have a son; he left his drawings to his nephew. Only certain drawings got into the RIBA collection. It seems one of his former assistants gave some of his drawings to the Royal Institute of British Architects, Its sad that theres nothing in this building about Cuthbert Brodrick.

BLUE PLAQUE: Leeds Civic Trust ROARING: Lion of Town Hall

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To Protect & To Preserve...

Worries about conserving our great Victorian heritage arent new to Great Britain and the city of Leeds. Since the mid 20th century, the Victorian Society has fought to help save some of the finest architecture in the country along with giving advice to help protect under threat buildings. Founded in 1958, with founder members including poet and writer John Betjeman and historians Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Nikolaus Pevsner, the society has three main aims: Conserving: to save Victorian and Edwardian buildings or groups of buildings of special architectural merit from needless destruction or disfigurement. Involving: to awaken public interest in, and appreciation of, the best of Victorian and Edwardian arts, architecture, crafts and design. Educating: to encourage the study of these and of related social history and to provide advice to owners and public authorities in regard to the preservation and repair of Victorian and Edwardian buildings and the uses to which they can, 13 if necessary be adapted. Based in London, but with regional groups across the UK, the society is also a statuary consultee in the listing of buildings and has saved major national monuments including the Albert Memorial in London and the Albert Dock in Liverpool. Local concerns can be voiced in meetings and talks by the society and Leeds City Museum hosted an exhibition in November, with weekly talks from the likes of society director Dr Ian Dungavell. The exhibition, featured a number of photographs ranging from pre-1958 to the restorations and conservation work carried out by the society. For more information on the society and their work as well as local event listings visit www.victoriansociety. org.uk Above; Dr Ian Dungavell delivered a speech at Leeds City Museum on the work of The Victorian Society. Below; Statue of John Betjeman a founder member of the Society.

Hidden Treasures...
Abbey Road Milepost
Located less than a mile down the road from the beautiful Kirkstall Abbey, the milepost majesitcally stands by the side of the busy Abbey Road. Apparently exactly two hundred miles to both London and Edinburgh, it stands, grand, in the heart between the two capitals. Suprisingly tall, the milepost was erected in 1829 and built by Beecroft and Butler, signified by the B&B embossed on the sign, who at the time owned the Forge where the post lies. The milepost is now Grade II listed and is a beautiful feature, along what is already an historic road.

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A Grand

In re have glory Lear repo

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ecent years both Leeds Grand Theatre and its City Varieties e been redeveloped and transformed back to their former y and Storeys were given an exclusive tour from Assistant rning Manager, Catherine Callinan. Richard Greenwood orts.

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Image courtesy of Leeds Grand theatre

Day Out...

reminiscent of a church, shows characteristics of the Gothic style, no doubt to signify the importance of the building by architect George Corson. As you step inside the Grade II listed building, Burmantoft tiles bearing the White Rose of Yorkshire, line the wide opening staircase, a feature, rediscovered following the renovation work, part funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, between 2005/06, recreating the majestic entrance. Burmantofts pottery and tiles were highly sort after during Victorian times and were seen as a mark of wealth, something of which theatre goers in the early days had plenty of. The opening night came on the 18th November 1878, a performance of Much Ado About Nothing where the manager at the time played the lead role. Since then thousands of productions have taken to the stage with an average of 280 performances a year from stand up comics, to Shakespeare productions to Rock Operas like todays We Will Rock You. As bums were hitting seats, the Grands stature only became more colossal. The 136 bulbed chandelier glistened over the excited audience in the auditorium. Heads turning to view the intricate details on the tiles and ceiling, pre-show chatting echos around the venue and you cant help but feel with the fine architecture along with the thrill of seeing a performance that what the Victorians did to step away from music halls is still thoroughly appreciated today despite

A great statue of Freddie Mercury looked down over City Square throughout the months of September and October meaning only one thing, We Will Rock You was in town.

likes of Julie Andrews, Felicity Kendal and Morecambe and Wise have all performed already had us desperately seeking the make up room.

Sadly as our Freddie Mercury moustaches were non-existent and a matinee performance of Performing for the first time We Will Rock You was about to in Leeds, the Queen based begin, the stage was off limopera was selling out at the impressive Grand Theatre and its. But the show must go on and from backstage stood the Storeys was lucky enough enormous fly screen. A new to be given the grand tour acquisition since the renovaalong with a trip to the newly renovated Leeds City Varieties, tion work of 2005 and allows quicker set changes and a though sadly a giant figure of Omid Djalili was nowhere to be much more desirable experience for travelling shows. seen. There was an excitement in the air as the Storeys team approached The Grand Theatre. Entering via the performers entrance and the chance to stand on a stage where the 17 The theatre itself was opened in 1878 at a cost of 62,000, to provide a respectable alternative to the pubs and music halls of the city. From the outside the Grands tall spires,

more modern theatres entering the city such as The West Yorkshire Playhouse and The Carriageworks. Catherine Callinan, Assistant Learning Manager of venues told us, It has that feeling that draws people back to it and weve got that sense of history and you cant recreate that, people will always come back to that. However, going back to a music hall, Leeds City Varieties is one of only four left in the United Kingdom and also benefited from The National Lotterys Heritage Fund and also Leeds City Council. Built in 1865 as an adjunct to The White Swan Inn following the owners desire to have a music hall, the City Varieties has hosted a whole host of acts from Charlie Chaplin, to Houdini to more recently Ken Dodd and Dara OBriain who described the Varieties as the best venue for standup in the nation.

The City Varieties has had a chequered past and had become extremely run down until the 2009 refurbishment. The 1950s saw the venue briefly become a venue for Stripteases and is also the only music hall to ever have been closed down for harbouring prostitutes though is world famous for its BBC variety show The Good Old Days where many acts made their name including Strictly favourite Sir Bruce Forsyth. Popular with royalty, The City Varieties was a favourite venue for Edward VII, where the royal box was often awash with his notorious lady friends, and after his coronation he donated his crest to the hall, where it still hangs above the stage today. The venue changed massively throughout the years, and when it came to the restoration project a few years ago, specialists found original features had been painted over hundreds of times. It cost 9.925m to refurbish the 350 seated venue including a complete reconstruction of the backstage area, ceiling and plasterwork repairs along with new seating and carpeting. The intricate detailing on much of the building has been restored though not before paint

analysts found over two hundred coats lying on the original golden leaves, and now looks fit for the next King, though with no notorious lady friends of course, as well as the loyal people of Leeds flocking back. Catherine said, The people of Leeds are incredibly proud of it. So many people feel ownership of it because theyve been coming here since they were knee high or they were involved in the pantomime when they were younger. I think most people in Leeds have some sort of identification for it so it was really important to keep people happy and stick to the heritage of the building. Since the reopening of the venue, the Varieties have been inundated with requests for tours of which public tours are hoping to be run in the future alongside the already popular workshops that take place at The Grand Theatre. Both venues are as vibrant and as popular as ever before and continue to stand up against modern theatres as well as providing an excellent place to meet new people, learn and most importantly have a grand day out.
For more information on courses & tours visit: www.leedsgrandtheatre. com

AUDITORIUM: City Varities

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A Conversation about Conservation...

Phil Ward is charged with ensuring the building heritage of Leeds is preserved. The team leader for conservation talks about the financial and logistical problems facing his team and the increasing pressures in tough economic times. Tapping into the big society, his own personal favourite views and the impact of the Victorians on the citys landscape. Conservation is a very broad field, there are people protecting the flora and fauna of Leeds thats a type of conservation but the small team that I manage, the three of us are specifically tasked with conserving Leeds build heritage, thats building and also spaces. I think its very, very important its my lifes work its what I live and dream and breath and eat, not quite eat but if I could I would so its very important to me Ive got the dream job dont tell anybody but Ill do it for free. Leeds is a fine city and if you look at any promotional literature on Leeds more often than not youll find a historic building in the background or in the foreground, activity might be going on inside a historic building and maybe because its such a fine city we perhaps take it for granted. So its very important to Leeds, does the city council realise what its got, well itd probably notice it if it wasnt there. Look around, the renaissance with a small r that has taken place in the city centre over the last 15 years has hap19 pened in a conservation area, Im making a case here for conservation not being a brake on economic development, so I think the case that conservation and economic development can go together has been made in the city centre. If youre looking short term and looking for a quick buck then you might see conservation as being an obstacle, but it is definitely an asset. Even in areas where theres depravation the historic environment is an asset, look at the schemes we have got running in Armley and Chappeltown where the historic environment is being used I suppose, its also being appreciated for its own right. But it is also being used as a spring forward for economic development because these things are finite that make these places unique. So the strategy in Leeds again whether it is recognised or not to build on the distinctiveness of places because wiping an old place away and replacing with some-

thing with that looks like anywhere else has been proved not to be a sustainable model. What were doing is undoing some of the mistakes of the 60s and 70s which tried to do just that. Places are in competition, Chappeltown is in competition with Chapel Allerton, there also competing with out of

town retail stores, what has it got that these places havent got, its got an historic environment. The common denominator should be quality, whether your matching in or whether your trying to put something that is a contrast, thats quite difficult to measure and very difficult to legislate for. It might not be a direct copy of somewhere but there is a resonance. Postmodernism when did it end, well say 1990, were still trying to assess that legacy thats been passed down to us. Its probably fair to say that 10 years ago itd gone out of fashion. Because some of the worst postmodern buildings just devalued the buildings that theyre trying to copy because they dont add anything and usually the materials were inferior such as use of artificial stone rather than real stone, so it didnt add anything and it arguably took away. There are other postmodernist buildings such as Leeds Combined Courts, which will perhaps stand the test of time, not to my tastes, but I dont think you can say it is good or bad; its a matter of taste. Economically thats when the city made great strides and certainly the capital of what is now West Yorkshire, so it established itself as a commercial capital and the merchants thought they were living in a golden era and they

were making parallels with other eras such as renaissance Italy, they though that Leeds was a rich prosperous and also a democratic city so they drew parallels with Florence, Venice. So they were lavish they wanted symbols to express this newfound wealth and confidence and also sort of pull themselves up a bit and hold their heads high with other cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, if it hadnt been for the Victorians Leeds would have been like Wakefield [chuckles]. The great buildings that you see here such as the town hall probably the pre-eminent town hall in the country, think Manchester would claim that title such as the building were in [Leeds City Museum], such as the Corn Exchange, such as Temple Works, theyre the icons of Leeds. Another thing to say about conservation is that there are no absolutes, you cant write a rule book and apply it inflexibly and rigorously to every situation everything is relative. First and foremost conservation is about keeping buildings in use, because if you dont keep them in use then they fall down. So we encourage buildings being adapted into new uses, now the question is what is the breaking point between preservation and adaptation, how far do you go. Thats not an exact science there are no absolutes here, it depends on lots of things, it depends on what the building 20

requires to be a viable entity, it depends on the quality of the intervention. So no rule book its a real art but when it comes off it really is fantastic when you get the melding of new and old. The museum here is a good example of adaptation, the tiled hall is an adaptation its also a restoration of a building that was abused and unloved for many years. You go to something like Jamies Italian restaurant thats a good adaptation because he took what he found; itd been a bank with a very, very fine ceiling and in the 1960s that was all ripped out well most of it anyway. But it left an imprint so hes taken it as found and it looks quite rich and as I say its good business, the list is endless. There is no building in the city centre that hasnt been adapted to different degrees; some are being adapted in their existing use such as the cathedral where the big funerals happening today thats been adapted. But some buildings have been adapted to new uses and quite radical new uses. I think were in an interesting time there was a bit of a truce over the last 15 years when the economy was strong between conservation and economic development. But when times arent that good theres certainly on a person like me to accept more change than I would have accepted and also change that isnt of the same quality. 21

now are the people who have worked outside of Leeds tell me that we have got quite a good record and reputation. Itd be a bit immodest with me to agree with that. Its very tough at the moment were being squeezed on a number of fronts, public finances are being squeezed so there are less of us to do the job, theres less public subsidy from English heritage, theres less private capital to do development to buildings, so buildings lie idle, so its very tough. Were going to have to as far as we can to tap into the big society, we havent really got into that but were starting. There is a willingness to do something, but the problem is often in areas where there isnt much money so if the state draws back on all fronts then these buildings are just left stranded. The government is encouraging private patronage, in other words wealthy people to give, well see how that goes, thatll be a new area for us but well see. I think I have a favoured view and thats looking from the junction of Great George Street and Woodhouse Lane down past the cathedral with all those red brick buildings giving me a sort of a comforting feel and then the Town Hall sort of further on, its endless its really a sort of deep vista into that Victorian city absolutely remarkable really, so as a set piece I really enjoy that and also Boar Lane as well. I get my biggest thrill though from seeing buildings used,

I think were going to have lots of challenges, theres lots of buildings that are falling out of use and theyre an increasing problem to us because there not being picked up by the market and there also being pillaged, cannibalised people are stealing things from them. So finding new uses for buildings is going to be a challenge and as I say there are no absolutes you have to recalibrate all the time. I think weve got a future, I think conservation is socially useful and economically useful but we have to change all the time also part of the change that is going to be challenging you know upgrading the performance of buildings thats going to be a challenge. In all these things the problem arises when policy makers change one thing or the other thing we can actually do lots of things at the same time if were clever enough and patient enough and we dont want very quick cheap solutions. Cheapness is not sustainable in the long term. Every day is a struggle but I think conservation is entrenched in Leeds. Other people who I have worked with in Leeds for a fair few years

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The Sporting Edition
Look out for our next issue in February, where we will be looking to bring you the Storeys behind historic sporting venues from across the region of Leeds. From historic football ground Elland Road - home of Leeds United AFC and witness to many a great sporting as well as cultural events. To the site where once rivals Huddersfield Town played their football, Leeds Road. We also look at what role the Olympics will play in the future of our architectural landscape and we talk to experts who feel that Leeds architecture has a big role to play in attracting punters to the city. We also look at the future of Headingley Cricket Ground and whether relegation for the Yorkshire side and the lack of an Ashes test will have an adverse effect on its future development. We also delve in to the issue of a lack of open green spaces for our young people to utilise for physical sports activities and what the council plans to do about it.

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HERITAGE TOURS
Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall offer backstage tours which explore the venuesintriguing stories. Leeds Grand Theatre first opened its doors in 1878 and has continued to entertain audiences through two world wars and beyond; show must go on! Be the transported to the magical backstage world to see behind the scenes, learn about the theatre history and try out the best seats in the house. s The City Varieties, one of only four surviving music halls in the U.K., has recently been restored to its former Victorian glory. From a music room above a pub, to the world-famous home of The Good Old Days, come and hear the often colourful story of the City Varieties and learn about the improvements that have been made to ensure the success of the City Varieties for many more years to come.
Tour details:
Tours last an hour and the following charges apply: 5/Adult and 3/Child (under 18 years) for a minimum of 5 and maximum of 25 people. Tours can be tailored to meet specific needs or interests. Please give details when making a booking. Please provide a selection of dates that you would like to visit us and we will try and accommodate you where possible. Please note as City Varieties is a working venue, it is not always possible to have access to all areas.

To make a booking:

Tour confirmation:

Once advised of tour availabilities, please confirm your selected date/time/contact details as soon as possible to avoid disappointment of losing the booking. To di scuss gr your oups needsor o makea booki t ng please contact the Learning Team. Catherine Callinan Learning Officer catherine.callinan@leedsgrandtheatre.com 0113 2977042